Chief Gawa Praised for banning all Cultural S.e.xual Practices

Minister of Religious Affairs and National Guidance Godfridah Sumaili has described the move by Paramount Chief Gawa of the Chewa people to ban cultural practices such as s.e.xual cleansing, spouse exchange and spouse inheritance as progressive.

Reverend Sumaili the move is in line with the country’s Christian values.

She has told ZNBC News in Lusaka today that some cultural practices have far-reaching consequences especially on women and girl children.

The Minister has urged other traditional leaders to emulate Paramount Chief Gawa Undi and ban cultural practices which are against national values and principles.

Early this week, Paramount Chief Kalonga Gawa Undi of the Chewa people banned s.e.xual initiations like spouse exchange, commonly known as Cidyerano, among other retrogressive cultural practices.

Cidyerano is a s.e.xual practice where men exchange their wives for s.e.xual variety, while ‘Fisi (hyena) concept’ is a s.e.xual exercise in which parents employ a mystery man (hyena) to test s.e.xual skills of a girl who has reached puberty.

The traditional leader said all bad initiations in the Chewa chiefdom will no longer be allowed.

Paramount Chief Gawa Undi identified seven cultural practices which have been banned to align Chewa customs with modern time.

He said this in a message to all Chewa people in Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique.